Chapter 481
Chapter 481
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 124
>Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Descent (3)
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Tens of thousands of swords and weapons shrouded the skies over the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
The sheer spectacle had drawn the gazes of the warriors from the three great powers—who had been solely focused on slaughtering their enemies just moments ago—skyward, unable to tear away.
Even a single sword moving on its own would have been cause for awe at the mysteries of qi-controlled swordsmanship, but this scene surpassed all imagination.
Then, a voice echoed in their ears like a reverberating thunderclap.
“I am the Heavenly Demon. The radiant flame that leads the myriad demons and guides all into darkness.”
‘!!!!!!!!’
Heavenly Demon?
Did he just say Heavenly Demon?
The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains erupted in murmurs.
In recent times, no name had shaken the martial world more than the Heavenly Demon.
The Ruling Step that shattered the Shaolin Temple's One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation in a single stride during his initial emergence.
The unparalleled feat of single-handedly toppling the Sichuan Tang Clan—renowned across both the righteous and evil factions of the martial world for their poisons and dark arts—forcing them to seal their gates.
The submission of Spirit Sword Villa, deemed the pinnacle among neutral factions, and the leader of the Nine Heavens Dance, one of the current apexes of the martial world.
Through these deeds alone, he had claimed the title of the martial world's zenith—the heavens themselves—in the shortest span in history.
Impressive as that was, his audacious march did not end there.
‘Heaven-Earth Society.’
He had dismantled the Heaven-Earth Society—one of the three great powers maintaining a delicate balance—and turned it into his own limb.
That proved the decisive spark.
There had always been friction with the two factions under the Justice Alliance, providing a pretext, but his advance knew no bounds.
Watching this relentless charge was enough to instill dread that his blade might one day reach their throats.
That fear was the true catalyst driving them all.
“What the hell is this guy?”
“A monster... a real monster.”
“Does his internal energy have an infinite source or something?”
Controlling thousands of weapons with pure qi while still transmitting his will to them—this was beyond comprehension.
Though their positions as righteous or evil made them desperate to deny it, deep down, they had no choice but to acknowledge it.
That being was the true pinnacle of the current martial world.
Having already witnessed the Seven Heavens' elite, the Ferocious Evil Tyrant Hae Shim, fall before their eyes, they knew his martial prowess belonged to an entirely different realm.
-Whoooosh!
There was a saying: one rider equals a thousand.
It meant a single warrior could hold off a thousand cavalry, but this one was poised to face down all these martial artists alone—and then some.
How could anyone possibly stand against that?
While the enemies trembled in fear of his presence, the warriors under Mok Kyung-un—former members of the Heaven-Earth Society—reacted differently.
Until now, they had been battling overwhelming enemy forces, their morale steadily crumbling. But the moment they beheld the overwhelming might of their lord, their spirits soared, and roars erupted from their throats.
-Waaaaaaaah!
The thunderous cries of the warriors shook the entire Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
It set every ally's blood ablaze.
-Thud!
Demolishing Axe King Ho Tae-gang slammed his axe into the ground, unable to contain his excitement.
‘I’ve waited for this moment.’
The arrival of an absolute sovereign worthy of absolute faith and loyalty.
Until now, as part of the three great powers, the Heaven-Earth Society had lingered in a fragile equilibrium, forced to suppress their boiling blood.
‘Ha...’
And it wasn’t just him.
Illustrious Sword King Son Yun, too, seemed to resonate with Mok Kyung-un’s majesty and the surging ally morale; color gradually returned to his ashen face.
‘He was just a brat I brought in to inherit the vein pulse.’
Yet now, that same youth had become an absolute being who inspired fear and awe in all.
His entire body trembled with exhilaration.
-Whoooosh!
Atop a distant peak in the rear lines, Sacred Flame Spirit Lord, her granddaughter Ye Song-a, and her lover Gu Yeon-woo—all mounted on an old horse—couldn’t suppress their shivers.
-Thud!
“Grandmother!”
When Sacred Flame Spirit Lord suddenly dropped to her knees, Ye Song-a, who had been supporting her, panicked and tried to help her up.
“No. It’s fine.”
But she refused, insisting she was all right.
Her eyes reddened as she gazed up at Mok Kyung-un in the sky, clasping her hands over her chest before intoning,
“Aaaah! The radiant flame that guides into darkness has descended upon the world. He is the true god.”
She closed her eyes and chanted reverently,
“This body burns in sacred flame, no attachment to life or death. It illuminates the path ahead; joy and sorrow alike become mere dust. Pitiable are the suffering mortals.”
‘Scripture!’
It was the sacred scripture of the Sacred Flame Cult.
As she recited it, Ye Song-a and Gu Yeon-woo beside her knelt as well.
Like her, they crossed their hands over their chests and chanted reverently toward Mok Kyung-un, who unfurled thousands of weapons like wings.
“This body burns in sacred flame, no attachment to life or death. It illuminates the path ahead; joy and sorrow alike become mere dust. Pitiable are the suffering mortals.”
It wasn’t just the two of them.
Hundreds of cultists gathered under the Heaven-Earth Society joined in the chant, spreading it with pious fervor.
With it, black flames flickered to life around Mok Kyung-un, igniting the myriad weapons.
-Fwoosh!
Thousands of weapons shimmering with black flames.
The majesty was incomparable to when they had merely floated.
-Chill!
‘How... how can this be?’
Nun Jeongmyeong of the Hangsan Sect, staring upward with eyes full of dread like the others, darkened her face and sat in meditation on the ground.
She pressed her palms together and began reciting sutras.
“Amitabha.”
As the black flames surged, the demonic qi spreading from the sky shook her pure mind.
She had no choice but to recite sutras to steady herself.
She wasn’t alone in this.
The Taoist sects, too, were crushed by the near-absolute darkness of the demonic qi, chanting praises to the Primeval Lord to fortify their spirits.
“Damn it... what the hell do we do?”
“Don’t ask me!”
“Even the alliance leader’s like that—how are we supposed to fight a monster like him?”
Those black flames.
They resembled sword gang qi.
But not ordinary gang qi—this was infused with demonic qi.
That wasn’t human.
How could a human body infuse thousands of weapons with gang qi?
The sheer overwhelming power left them gripped by terror.
Red Evil Chain Lord Im Mu-gun, third leader of the Evil Chain Alliance, grimaced and clicked his tongue.
‘It’s over. That thing’s beyond anything a human can handle.’
That single existence rendered the very concept of military strength meaningless.
Crushed by the transcendent power, he no longer harbored any desire to continue the war.
Then, Mok Kyung-un’s voice resounded once more.
“Fools swayed by petty schemes, invading my domain.”
“Urk!”
His lion’s roar echoed everywhere, forcing many to clamp their hands over their ears.
Not content with qi-controlled swords, he wielded gang qi too—and still had surplus qi to spare for speech? It defied reason.
Im Mu-gun was genuinely terrified of that being.
He wasn’t alone; most gathered there felt the same.
As tension gripped everyone, Mok Kyung-un’s voice continued.
“Your deaths would be fitting recompense. Yet, out of mercy for your ignorance—born of fear toward the absolute sovereign who leads the myriad demons and your pathetic scheming—I shall grant a sliver of compassion.”
‘Mercy?’
Did he just say mercy?
His words rang in their ears, twisting the faces of the Justice Alliance executives, Evil Chain Alliance leaders, and masters in humiliation.
This wasn’t a war of attrition.
They had assembled under the banner of upholding justice, to eradicate the seeds of future threats to the martial world.
Yet the invader was offering them mercy?
The insult was unbearable.
But not one could refute him.
Not even the elders, patriarchs, or supreme masters of each sect.
-Grip!
‘How... can this... happen...’
‘It’s a catastrophe. To be cowed into submission by one man’s presence alone.’
‘This can’t be. We can’t retreat... If we do, posterity will mock us.’
‘Even if it means the worst outcome, we must fight.’
No one dared speak up.
They couldn’t irresponsibly invite the gruesome consequences vivid in their minds.
-Grind!
Mok Yu-cheon bit his lip raw, though he tried not to show it, watching the Justice Alliance warriors and pillars paralyzed by fear and dread.
Even if it meant his own sacrifice, he had tried to persuade the alliance elders to prevent this war. Yet this bastard was ending it single-handedly with raw power.
‘You bastard...’
Exhausted, Mok Yu-cheon collapsed to the ground.
All rivalry and competitive spirit toward the boy had vanished.
He had seemed unreachable during the Heaven-Earth Society civil war, but now he was like a star in the heavens.
“Haa...”
Whatever. Maybe they should just be grateful the three great powers hadn’t clashed.
It was then.
“Hahahahahahahaha!”
A burst of mad laughter echoed from somewhere.
The sudden sound drew the gazes of those watching Mok Kyung-un toward its source.
There, floating high in the sky once more, was another figure.
The Evil Chain Alliance members didn’t recognize him, but the Justice Alliance did.
“Patriarch Tanmok?”
It was Tanmok Clan’s patriarch, Tanmok In-ho.
The Justice Alliance elders and executives couldn’t hide their shock at his display of Soaring Emptiness Path—a pinnacle lightness skill.
He was a clan patriarch, but his martial prowess wasn’t considered exceptional.
They had pegged him as a seasoned peak transcendent expert, so seeing him execute the ultimate lightness art left them baffled.
Oblivious to their stares—or perhaps ignoring them—
-Crack!
A third eye suddenly opened on Tanmok In-ho’s forehead.
“What the hell’s that on his forehead?”
“An eye?”
Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sight.
Undeterred, Tanmok In-ho sneered and spoke.
“I wanted to watch you pathetic humans tear each other apart on the path to ruin, but you’ve gone and ruined the fun.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Why was the Tanmok Clan patriarch saying such things?
-Rumble!
As confusion spread, those on the forward peaks noticed something amiss.
The war had paused with Mok Kyung-un’s arrival, but the ground was trembling.
Why was the earth shaking all of a sudden?
Someone’s eyes widened in horror, and they shouted.
“Look over there!”
“W-what the hell is that?”
The cry drew every nearby gaze.
From the horizon ahead of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains marched endless black shapes filling the skyline.
Those watching felt their pupils quake.
They weren’t human.
Too grotesque for beasts, they were unmistakably monstrosities.
“How... how are they...”
-Rumble!
The quaking intensified, the noise growing louder.
The sheer, unending number of monstrosities pouring from the horizon turned the faces of the three great powers’ warriors—locked in combat upfront—pale as they staggered back.
Why were so many monsters surging here of all places?
Terror and fear are contagious.
The overwhelming horde soon blanketed most peaks of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, sowing chaos and unrest rivaling Mok Kyung-un’s arrival.
“No... this can’t be.”
“What kind of freak phenomenon is this?”
Lifelong rarities—nay, these immeasurable demonic hordes—how were they swarming in organized masses?
Overwhelmed by the numbers, everyone was dumbfounded.
Tanmok In-ho grinned maniacally at their expressions.
‘Yes. That’s the face befitting your worthless existence.’
He’d wanted to see more mutual slaughter and self-destruction, but it didn’t matter now.
With this, he could unleash a cataclysm dwarfing the last one, wiping the martial world clean and eradicating humanity.
“This is despair.”
-Swish!
Tanmok In-ho turned, glaring at Mok Kyung-un.
The bastard’s power far exceeded expectations, but those thousands of qi-controlled sword gangs were mere bluff and bluster for show.
No matter one’s spatial dominance, sword resonance, or supreme prowess, handling that many swords simultaneously was impossible...
-Shing! Shing! Shing!
It was right then.
The thousands of swords filling the sky—aimed at the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains—shifted formation and surged toward the oncoming demonic hordes.
Tanmok In-ho scowled and bellowed at Mok Kyung-un.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Even for you, this is reckless. There’s no way you can...”
“Nothing impossible about it.”
“What?”
“Heaven-Piercing Flash: Eight Immortals Sword Barrage.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth.
From the tips of the thousands of demonic-flame-wreathed weapons erupted sword gang beams as black streaks.
But that wasn’t all.
-Shwaaaa!
The beams split eightfold in midair, instantly blanketing the sky in black streaks—no, a meteor shower of darkness.
‘!!!!!!!!!!’
The demonic hordes, marching forward as if driven by some will, wildly shook their eyes at the oncoming barrage filling their view.
[End of Chapter 124: Heavenly Demon Descent (3)]